In 2007, Karen Cottle traveled to New York for the inaugural awards of the DirectWomen Institute, which promotes women on corporate boards. Cottle, the general counsel of Adobe Systems Inc., was inspired by the event, but didn’t know of any similar organizations closer to her West Coast home.

An inspiring example of proactive pipeline development comes from the legal department at Prudential Financial, where general counsel Susan Blount and her senior colleagues are leading initiatives to identify and nurture legal talent inside and outside the company.

Tom Sabatino’s resume is impressive, including general counsel posts at Baxter International, Schering-Plough, United Airlines and, currently, Walgreens, where he also serves as executive vice president and corporate secretary.